4 Things I’ve Learnt About Croud And This Industry5 min read

I started work at Croud back in February, and little did I know the whole new world that I was about to be introduced to! My degree is in Media Production, so even though this job is pretty different, it’s the first job I have had since graduation that has been in any way related to my degree (even if that is very loosely…). For me, Croud, and the industry it is in, wasn’t something I had been involved in before, and now, 3 months in, I have learnt so much.

My Croud story actually begun quite ironically. For a company and industry that is so surrounded by top notch technology and online presence, I’m sure most applications to work at the company are received via the internet. However, I thought I would do things a little differently and decided to arrive at the office in Shrewsbury and physically hand my CV in, because I thought it would be good to put a face to my name, it might (I hope!) have left a good impression and to be honest, I was just a bit curious. It’s not every day you see a company with offices based in New York, Sydney, London and to top it off Shrewsbury!

Thankfully that worked and I’m here, so what have I actually learnt about the industry and Croud itself? Well, as I mentioned, it’s a lot, but I’ll keep it simple. Here are the top 4 things I have learnt so far.

Training & Development

How do you teach someone that has never used AdWords or Bing, never worked in an agency and never even worked in the industry how to work within PPC? Easy, ask Croud. The training and development program at Croud is second to none. From the first day that I arrived to even today, I am still learning things about my job and this industry, and that is solely down to Croud and the Croud mentality.

Immediately I was thrown in to a training program and I spent my first two weeks doing a mixture of things including watching tutorial videos, completing exercises and having introductory meetings with different people around the office. Those first two weeks are about laying the foundations, but the great thing is that that isn’t where it ends. We have what’s called the Croud Academy, where we can continue to develop and complete modules surrounding different subjects like editorial or YouTube.

The other side of training and development is the mentality surrounding peer to peer guidance. One of the most comforting things about Croud is that everyone is there to help. Nothing is ever too much to ask or too little and everyone is so willing to get involved with your work if you need some assistance. That’s a great environment to be in if you ask me.

Pace

This is one of the most apparent things to me in the industry. It moves so fast! I remember when I started at Croud someone told me by the time you learn something that is new to the industry, something else will have been introduced and you will have to start learning again. I thought this was a bit of an exaggeration. I was very wrong. Things are changing on an almost daily basis within this industry and at times it seems hard to keep up. But that’s all part of the fun! For me, this keeps me on my toes and who wouldn’t want to be in an industry where there are always things to learn and ways to develop?

Attention To Detail

This is an important one, and if I’m being honest, one that I have worked on. My attention to detail is pretty good I believe, but this line of work is a different ball game. The more I have got to know about this industry the more I have realised this. You can have an Ad disapproved for something as little as capitalization or a number on a formula you are creating on Excel can completely change an outcome.

But, once again, this is actually a great skill to develop and if there is ever an industry or job that will let you develop this, it is most certainly this one. This needed attention for detail makes you become over cautious and encourages you to QA everything that you do, and that can only be a good thing.

The Croud Community

The Croud community feel, I believe, stems from the business mentality for its employees

“No such thing as a great agency, just great people IN agencies”.

From the beginning, you are made to feel part of the team and no matter what your background or experience, you can bring something positive to the company. I think that is a great message for someone who is just joining Croud and it immediately made me feel comfortable and inspired.

Aside from that, there is so much about this company that has a community feel, from the all hands presentations, where all of the offices around the world have a Google Hangout to update each other on what’s new and how we are developing as a company, to the FIFA football league we have at lunch (I’m kind of a big deal on that front…) there is so much to be involved in at this company and it is so accessible! Yes, there is a lot to learn and yes, at times, it is very challenging, but I want to learn and I want to be challenged and if you are that sort of person, then Croud is definitely for you.